HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Hui, F.-M. Articles by Gong, P. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hui, F.-M. Articles by Gong, P.

Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Malaria in Yunnan Province, China

The spatio-temporal distribution pattern of malaria in Yunnan Province, China was studied using a geographic information system technique. Both descriptive and temporal scan statistics revealed seasonal fluctuation in malaria incidences in Yunnan Province with only one peak during 1995–2000, and two apparent peaks from 2001 to 2005. Spatial autocorrelation analysis indicated that malaria incidence was not randomly distributed in the province. Further analysis using spatial scan statistics discovered that the high risk areas were mainly clustered at the bordering areas with Myanmar and Laos, and in Yuanjiang River Basin. There were obvious associations between Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodoium falciparum malaria incidences and climatic factors with a clear 1-month lagged effect, especially in cluster areas. All these could provide information on where and when malaria prevention and control measures would be applied. These findings imply that countermeasures should target high risk areas at suitable times, when climatic factors facilitate the transmission of malaria.

Received September 13, 2008. Accepted for publication May 20, 2009.

Acknowledgments: We thank two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and suggestions.

Financial support: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30590370), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2006AA12Z112), the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scientists (No. 30725032), and Special Grant for the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (No. 2008ZX10004-012).

^* Address correspondence to Wu-Chun Cao, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, P.R. China, E-mail: caowc{at}nic.bmi.ac.cn and Peng Gong, State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100101, P.R. China, E-mail: gong{at}nature.berkeley.edu.

Authors’ addresses: Feng-Ming Hui, State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100101, P.R. China, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, P.R. China, and State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, P.R. China. Bing Xu, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, P.R. China. Zhang-Wei Chen, Hong-Ning Zhou, and Heng-Lin Yang, Yunnan Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Pu’er 665000, P.R. China. Xiao Cheng, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, P.R. China. Lu Liang, Hua-Bing Huang, and Peng Gong, State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by the Institute of Remote Sensing Applications of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100101, P.R. China. Li-Qun Fang, Hong Yang, and Wu-Chun Cao, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, P.R. China. Xiao-Nong Zhou, National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.